A courageous act: Philadelphia police Officers Joseph O’Reilly (left) and Pablo Rivera (right) were honored during a meeting of the 7th Police District Advisory Council last Thursday. They located and arrested a suspect who allegedly pointed a syringe at the Rite Aid employee during a robbery in May. SOURCE: 7TH Police District Advisory Council
Philadelphia police Officers Joseph O’Reilly and Pablo Rivera are the latest Officers of the Month in the 7th district.
Community leaders honored O’Reilly and Rivera during a meeting of the 7th Police District Advisory Council last Thursday. The officers were working together on an undercover burglary patrol on May 11 when they responded to a police radio report of a robbery at the Rite Aid, 9733 Roosevelt Blvd.
A man with a syringe allegedly pointed the device at an employee and warned that he had AIDS. He stole medications from the pharmacy and fled.
While surveying the neighborhood, O’Reilly and Rivera spotted a suspect hiding under a deck on the 2100 block of Gregg St. The officers captured the man and brought him back to the store, where a victim identified him as the robber. The officers allegedly found a black BB pistol, black ski mask, wire cutters, a screwdriver and the stolen meds in a duffle bag carried by the suspect.
In addition to that, O’Reilly assisted federal drug agents and investigators from the District Attorney’s office in an April 28 raid that allegedly netted $3 million of heroin from a house in the district. ••
